There is an increasing focus on humanitarian workers and stress. In certain situations, such as humanitarian crises, people - including humanitarian workers themselves - can easily become stressed and their communication violent, which in turn may contribute to more stress and violence around them. However, this cycle can be broken with sufficient support and awareness.

At a workshop in June 2015, I facilitated self-care, group debrief and communication sessions for senior gender advisers deployed by the Norwegian Refugee Council. This paper presents and discusses their experiences of stress, communication, and Gestalt interventions.

The Mediterranean is the most dangerous border between countries that are not at war. There have been more than 15 000 dead or missing since January 1998 and many more uncounted. Recently, the numbers of deaths have increased dramatically. As a border – a “contact boundary” in Gestalt therapy terminology – it is also somewhere we can see the European self in function, i.e. what Europe wants, does and becomes in interaction with the wider environment. In this article on the British Gestalt Journal website, I explore how we can use polarity theory to better understand the current crisis. Read the article here.